Uecker Visits VRSPAGE 4

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INSIDE!

The Fall-O-Ween Carnival is 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 25!

Why Do We Do These Things? Time is a hard thing to fi nd. It’s always slipping away, spoken for, or running out. It’s a popular thing, there’s never enough, and it’s rarely ever free. We tend to guard our time like gold. We realize how precious it is. We reserve it for obligations and the people we love most. Or we try to, anyway. The rest is spent getting to or from those two points. That’s why it’s important to let you know you’re not the only one who values your time. We rec-ognize and respect your time, and when we ask for it for events here at SCDD, please know it’s appreciated and recognized. There has been some confusion in the past, but working at SCDD events – if outside the scope of your regular workday and duties – allows for you to claim time. If you are a exempt employee (teachers, nurses, managers, directors) and you work Fall-O-Ween, which runs 5-7 p.m., Thurs-day, Oct. 25, you can claim the time on your timesheet and be credited for it in comp time. If you work cleanup for the event, which can some-times go to 9 p.m. or later, again, you can claim that as comp time. You can bank those hours for a set amount of time and use them for, say, when your child gets sick or you have a doctor’s appointment instead of using sick time. If you are a non-exempt employee and you choose to work, you will get paid for the hours worked. But why do we do these events? In the blur of every day life, it’s easy to lose focus. So here’s a simple reason why our events are valuable: Connection. Each awareness event is an opportunity to connect with our broader Scioto County com-munity. Sometimes we go out to see them, like at our booth during the Scioto County Fair, but

■ This year’s Fall-O-Ween proceeds will go to the Vern Riffe School PTO. The PTO helps fund such things as the prom and graduation, as well as purchases for the school that enhances students’ lives. In the recent past, the PTO has purchased a new washer and dryer for the school, which gets daily use and directly affects our students.■ Color-coded wristbands instead of tickets and separate admission. This will be a tiered system: $1 or a can of food for 5 game plays (red); $5 for 10 game plays (blue); $10 for unlimited game plays (gold). This is expected to cut down on the bottlenecks at admission and ticket tables, but will also allow for larger purchases up front. Staff running games will simply “X” the wristband with a marker.■ We will also do presale of wristbands and

provide basic wristbands for VRS students starting the week of Fall-O-Ween. ■ Food will be provided for staff who sign up to work. Subway meals will be delivered about 2:30 p.m. and will be placed in Room 101 to pick up as staff have time.■ Non-perishable food items will be donated to the SSU Bear Necessities Food Pantry. We often have interns or graduates from Shawnee working in our programs or volunteering for Special Olympics events, so it makes sense to show our appreciation in a way that benefi ts SSU students. A Bear Necessities staff member will pick up the donation on Friday, Oct. 26. ■ Volunteer sign-up sheets are on pubshare.■ Facebook ads are being used to boost the event and will be targeted to Scioto County specifi cally.

Things to Know About Fall-O-Ween 2018

See WHY, Page 3

Tim Hunt is a new Service & Support Administrator with Scioto County De-velopmental Disabil-ities. Tim is based in the Vern Riffe School building. Tim and his wife, Crystal, live in Greenup, Ky., and he enjoys baking and crafting. “I spend a lot of my time volunteering with the Lions Club helping people with vision issues,” he said. Tim says his physical disability led him to SCDD. “I am visually impaired. With my physi-cal disability I know how difficult life can be and the struggle to find resources, so I want to help people and make that process easier.” Tim can be reached at thunt@sciotodd.org.

Christy Rolfe is a familiar face around SCDD, having served as an SSA for years. She has returned to SCDD as a Needs Evaluator through SOCOG. Originally from Marietta, Christy lives in Lucasville with her husband, Ryan, and daughters Kaitie and Reagan. They have one Cairn terrier, Dorothy. Her hobbies include: baking, reading, and spending time with family. “I have been working in the DD field the last nine years, both with children and

adults,” she said. “I love being able to make adifference in someone’s life. No matter how small it may seem to someone else, it means the world to the individual.” Christy can be reached at crolfe@sciotodd.org.

Amy Collins-Dixon is a new Service & Support Adminis-trator. She lives in South Webster with her three daughters, Briana, Emilie, and Maddie, her husband Jon, and her cat, Binx. Amy enjoys reading, traveling, and garden-ing as hobbies.“I love the positivity I’ve seen from individ-uals and SSA’s in the DD field and wanted to be a part of that,” she said. Amy can be reached at acdixon@sciotodd.org.

Vicky Carver comes to SCDD as a Needs Evaluator through SOCOG. She is single and lives in Lucasville. Her family includes her parents, Curt and Alice Carver, as well as her dog, Snow. Vicky enjoys reading, writing, and listening to music. “This is a population I care about, and I have an educational background that allows me to assist individuals and bring some value and perspective,” she said. Vicky can be reached at vcarver@sciotodd.org.

Theresa Nagy lives in Peebles and is interning in the SSA Department un-der the direct super-vision of Behavior Support Specialist Jessica Hoffer. Her family includes her parents, two brothers, and a sister, as well as her two dogs, Stitch and Doc. Theresa enjoys reading, watching mov-ies, and being outside. As far as choosing to explore the DD field, she said she wanted to help individ-uals and her teacher thought she would do well.

Lori Morton has moved to the position of teacher’s aide in Room 109 with Lead Teacher Dana Jones. Morton replaces Jayne Stone, who retired after many years of service. Lori has been a 1:1 aide at VRS since 2014. She can be reached at lmorton@sciotodd.org.

Tim HuntSSA

Christy RolfeNeeds

Evaluator

Vicky CarverNeeds Evaluator

Theresa NagyIntern

Team SCDD

www.SciotoCountyDD.org

Lori MortonTeacher’s Aide

Amy Collins-Dixon

SSA

Vern Riffe School students returned to class Monday, Aug. 27, greeted by VRS staff as they got off their buses.

Welcome Back, Cardinals!

Why (contd. from Page 1)sometimes – as with Fall-O-Ween – they are invited in. They come to our main campus here at Vern Riffe School and experience the kindness and community that is Scioto County Develop-mental Disabilities. Maybe they have never had need of our services or they’ve driven by every day for years without knowing exactly what we do. They and the people we serve are why we are here. If not for the Scioto County taxpayer, we couldn’t offer the services we do to more than 750 of our fellow Scioto Countians. Can’t give your time? We’re always accepting donations of bags of individually wrapped candy

or non-edibles, like bead necklaces or Happy Meal-style toys. Did you know we give out thou-sands of pieces of candy during the River Days parade alone? This year, we used more than 25 large bags of candy – that’s more than 7,000 pieces of candy given to local kids and families at one of Scioto County’s biggest cultural events! Even easier, share our events on your social media! Our reach on social media grows every month, and simply clicking “share” on the SCDD posts helps educate more people about what we do here and the people we serve. Most of all, please know you make a difference every day. You are appreciated.

NOVEMBER12: Veterans Day holiday/

SCDD Closed13: VRS Parent/Teacher

conferences15: SCDD Board meeting19: VRS Parent/Teacher

conferences21-23: VRS Thanksgiving break

22-23: Thanksgiving holiday/SCDD Closed

DECEMBER18: VRS holiday program20: SCDD Board meeting

21-Jan. 2: VRS holiday break25: Christmas/SCDD Closed

JANUARY1: New Year’s Day/

SCDD Closed3: VRS Classes resume

17: SCDD Board meeting21: MLK Jr. Day holiday/

SCDD Closed

FEBRUARY18: Presidents Day holiday/

SCDD Closed21: SCDD Board meeting

28: Rare Disease Awareness Day

MARCH (DD Awareness Month)

16: Portsmouth St. Patrick’s Day Parade

21: World Down Syndrome Day, SCDD Board meeting

25, 27: VRS Parent/Teacher conferences

29: VRS / NO SCHOOL(*March 2019’s The Hardwood Heroes

Celebrity Basketball Game and the Rivals Game dates TBD.)

Calendar

Purcell Talks Policy with Sen. Uecker Scioto County Developmental Disabilities Superintendent Matt Purcell met with state Sen. Joe Uecker, R-Miami Township, Aug. 30 to discuss disability policy and funding ahead the upcoming two-year state budget process. The regional meeting was conducted at the Clermont County Board of DD offices in Bat-avia and included Clermont County Board of DD Superintendent Dan Ottke. Together, the boards provide services and supports to more than 2,500 people with developmental disabilities in southern Ohio. Supports for Ohioans with developmental disabilities are funded by a combination of local, state, and federal dollars. Much of the state’s portion of that funding is decided every two years during Ohio’s biennial bud-get process, during which lawmakers draw up the state’s two-year spending plan. The 2020-21 state budget will be written in the first half of 2019.“This was a great opportunity to get in front of one of our legislators in a manner that allowed us to dig in and discuss what really needs to be discussed regarding services for folks with disabilities now and in the

future,” Purcell said. Purcell and Ottke spoke to Uecker about several other DD-related topics, including state funding for DD programs and the ongoing statewide shortage of direct service professionals (DSPs) to care for people with developmental disabilities in home and community-based settings. “It’s truly amazing what these folks do for their clients and families,” Uecker said. “Southern Ohio, as well as all counties in our state, should be proud of the work that takes place in these facilities.” Uecker also met with Purcell and other administrators when he visited Scioto County Developmental Disabilities on Oct. 4. Uecker represents Ohio’s 14th Senate District, which includes Adams,

Brown, Clermont and Scioto counties and part of Lawrence County. He is serving his second term in the Ohio Senate. Uecker is chairman of the Standing Committee on State and Local Government. He previously served four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives. Scioto County Developmental Dis-abilities serves more than 750 county residents, including babies, toddlers, school-age children and adults with developmental disabilities.

ABOVE: Superintendent Matt Purcell and State Sen. Joe Uecker at Vern Riffe School on Oct. 2. LEFT: Uecker and Vern Riffe School student Zach Kigar read together during Uecker’s tour of VRS.

Students and staff at Scioto County Developmental Disabilities showed their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by putting on their pink and gathering on the playground for the annual Pink Out photo on Friday, Oct. 12. We support awareness and research!

SCDD Joins in Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness

Fire Safety Week is always a big deal at Vern Riffe School. Every year, firefighters with the Portsmouth Fire Department bring a firetruck and give a presentation to students about how to prevent fires and what to do in case one starts. ABOVE: Vern Riffe School students Angel Rowe and Cordell Miller won the annual Fire Safety Poster Contest! Here, they pose with Sparky the Portsmouth Fire Department’s mascot on Thurs-day, Oct. 11. Firefighters with Portsmouth Fire Department also brought a firetruck to VRS for students to explore. ABOVE RIGHT: CJ Shigley checks out the firetruck with his aide, Savanah Whitt. BOTTOM RIGHT: Teacher Brenda MacDonald takes a picture of her class with the fire truck.

In August, a tiny 6-week-old kitten was found on a stormy day at Vern Riffe School. He was adopted by Community Relations Coordinator Lori McNelly and named Quincy. Quincy is healthy at 5 months old and is learning much from his two big sisfurs, Maggie and Spotty, when he’s not trying to tackle them into playing with him. He has begun using the big kitties’ scratching post and fi nds any trouble he can get into. He likes to get a running start, jump on any table, and use papers to surf the length of the furniture. Quincy was 5.2 pounds at his last vet appointment and does not like having his nails trimmed. But, he still purrs and gives forceful headbutts to people’s chins, as if to say: “It’s OK. We’re still buddies.” He enjoys trying to climb the wall decor and startling his sisfurs. Quincy is otherwise a very chill dude. He has his big boy surgery on Oct. 31.

The Quincy Chronicles

The Scioto County Board of Developmen-tal Disabilities met at 4:45 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 16. In addition to routine business, the Board took the following actions:n Abolished Policy 2.16 Waiting Lists for Services and approved a new version of the policy to comply with DoDD’s new rule for waiting lists effective Sept. 1n Approved the bid and contractor for the STAR bathroom projectn Accepted a verbal pledge to assist with the costs of the STAR bathroom projectn Approved a one-time payment from SCDD to be used for the STAR bathroom projectn Accepted the STAR board will ap-prove that STAR, Inc., pay the remaining balance of the bathroom project at their

next meeting n Accepted the lowest of three letter-head quotes for the renovation of offi ce space at Carousel Centern Approved the new salary range for the school nurse to go into effect the fi rst day of schooln Approved an addendum with South-ern Ohio Council of Governments to provide administrative and waitlist assess-ment assistance to SCDD as needed The Scioto County Board of Developmen-tal Disabilities met September 20, 2018 at 4:45 P.M. In addition to routine business, the Board took the following actions:n Approved a pay adjustment for bus monitorsn Approved the Superintendent’s Devel-opment Plan

n Approved a payment to assist with the Help Me Grow programn Approved the position of substitute nurse and authorized the Superintendent to determine the rate of payn Received confi rmation regarding a pledge for payment to assist with the STAR bathroom project from Commission-er Bryan Davis The next regular board meeting will be at 4:45 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18 at STAR, Inc., 2625 Gallia St., Portsmouth, OH 45662. An ethics Committee meeting will be conducted at 4:30 P.M. at the same place if there is a need. All meetings are open to the public with the exception of executive session.

Board Notes

www.FriendsOfSciotoDD.com